Having a child is probably the most life changing event that can happen to you. It is amazing, scary, challenging and exciting.
It also is a great moment to ask yourself - what kind of parent do I want to be? What role models have I had in my life for parenting, or specifically, who is a great dad out there?
Ever since becoming a dad myself, and talking to numbers of new and "seasoned" dads, it became clear they didn't find many role models, guidance and resources to help get your head around dadlife. Probably because traditionally, raising kids was (generally) seen as a mother's job, with the father having a secondary, provider or assistant role. Now as times change, dads are getting more involved, and this is great.
But this brings challenges: the dad might spend less time with the newborn, therefore learns slower, traditional society roles disencourage active involvement from the father (just look at parental leave schemes), lack of role models as times change, insufficient support networks specific to fathers among others. And from a socialising viewpoint, dads will spend less time doing whatever they did before, friends will be lost, less time for hobbies and exercise, all of which can have a toll on your mental health.
This is where my DadCoaching comes in. It is not meant to be a step by step guide on "How to Dad", but support to find your own strengths, a vision of you as a dad, so that you can then show up 100% confident in being your best version of a dad, as well as shift to the new person that being a Dad brings with it.
This means leaving old preconceptions behind, working on barriers or fears you might have, own childhood experiences that turned into blockages in adulthood and removing any triggers that can come up as you become a parent. Also learning to deal with the lifestyle changes that are part of parenting, stress, sleepless nights, less time for friends and hobbies and potential feelings of failure for not being the guy you used to be.
In any of our sessions we discuss your views of parenting, find beliefs that support you vision and replace the useless ones, destroy any fears or insecurities around the responsibility of providing for a family, build an understanding of your new identity as a dad, develop tools to manage your new reality and improve communication with your partner.
The end goal is one: having the strength, confidence and certainty that you will take the right decisions as a dad, partner and man to be the best dad your kid needs right now, and in their future.
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